Class 8 Sample Paper Social Science (Half Yearly)

SAMPLE
PAPER
Half Yearly Examination

Prepared For
NCERT BASED SYLLABUS
Applicable For
CBSE BOARD AND STATE BOARD USING NCERT

WWW.

HALF YEARLY EXAMINATION
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
Class - VIII Subject – Social Science
Time – 3 Hours Maximum Marks-80

Answer all the questions. Marks are indicated against each question.

HISTORY
I. Choose the correct option. [1X6=6]
1. The first Governor General of India was
a. Lord Dalhousie
b. Warren Hastings
c. Lord Canning
d. Lord William Bentinck
2. James Rennel produced the first map of India in
a. 1782
b. 1785
c. 1830
d. 1885
3. What do you mean by Mahal in British revenue records?
a. Farmer and fields
b. A village or a group of villages
c. Seeds and crops
d. Local name of land revenue
4. Who became the Nawab of Bengal after the death of Alivardi Khan in 1756?
a. Sirajuddaulah
b. Mir Kasim
c. Murshid Quli Khan
d. Mir Jafar
5. What was the farman?
a. Name of a trading ship
b. A royal edict to trade duty free
c. Name of the East India Company Factory
d. None of the above
6. Under the Doctrine of Lapse introduced by Lord Dalhousie , the Indian rulers
a. were not allowed to go out of their states.
b. could not have relations with foreign powers.
c. were not allowed to adopt an heir to the throne
d. could not keep an army

II. Answer the following questions. [1X6=6]
1.What is colonialism?
2.Define the term ‘Mercantile”.
1

3.Who was the last powerful Mughal ruler?
4.What is Bigha?
5.Who was the first Viceroy of India?
6.Define Mutiny.

III. Answer the following questions. [3X2=6]
1. What is the problem with the periodisation of Indian history that James Mill offers?
2. In what way was the administration of the Company different from that of Indian rulers?

IV. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given. [1X5=5]
After the British were routed from Delhi , there was no uprising for almost a week. It took that
much time for news to travel. Then, a spurt of mutinies began.
Regiment after regiment mutinied and took off to join other troops at nodal points like Delhi,
Kanpur and Lucknow.After them, the people of the towns and villages also rose up in
rebellion and rallied around local leaders, zamindars and chiefs who were prepared to
establish their authority and fight the British. Nana Saheb, the adopted son of the late Peshwa
Baji Rao who lived near Kanpur, gathered armed forces and expelled the British garrison from
the city. He proclaimed himself Peshwa. He declared that he was a governor under Emperor
Bahadur Shah Zafar. In Lucknow, Birjis Qadr , the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah,
was proclaimed the new Nawab. He too acknowledged the suzerainty of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
His mother Begum Hazrat Mahal took an active part in organising the uprising against the
British. In Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai joined the rebel sepoys and fought the British along with
Tantia Tope, the general of Nana Saheb. In the Mandla region of Madhya Pradesh, Rani
Avantibai Lodhi of Ramgarh raised and led an army of four thousand against the British who
had taken over the administration of her state.
1. Name the adopted son of the late Peshwa Baji Rao
a. Nana Saheb
b. Birjis Qadr
c. Tantia Tope
d. Kunwar Singh
2. Who was the son of the deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh?
a. Hazrat Mahal
b. Birjis Qadr
c. Ahmaddulah Shah
d. Bakht Khan
3. Who was actively organising the revolt from Jhansi?
a. Rani Laxmi Bai
b. Tantia Tope
c. Nana Saheb
d. Bahadur Shah Zafar
4. Who was the General of Nana Saheb?
a. Begum Hazrat
b. Birjis Qadr

c. Tantia Tope
d. Bakht Khan
5. Who led an army of four thousand against the British in the Mandla region of Madhya
Pradesh?
2

a. Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi
b. Rani Chinamma
c. Banu Begum
d. Diya Kumari
V. Answer the following questions. [3+2=5]
1. Describe the main features of the Permanent Settlement. (3)
2. Give two problems which arose with the new Munro System of fixing revenue. (2)

CIVICS

I. Choose the correct option. [1X6=6]
1. According to the Fundamental Rights mentioned in the Indian Constitution , which of the
following is prohibited?
a. Human Trafficking
b. Forced Labour
c. Children under 14 years of age working in hazardous occupations
d. All of the above
2. State’s efforts to influence a particular matter in accordance with the principles of the
Constitution is called
a. Intervene
b. Coercion
c. Secularism
d. None of the above
3. The force used by a legal authority is
a. Secular
b. Allegiance
c. Coercion
d. None of the above
4. When was the Hindu Succession Amendment Act passed?
a. 1870
b. 1962
c. 1979
d. 2005
5. Who presides over Lok Sabha?
a. President
b. Prime Minister
c. Speaker
d. People
6. Rajya Sabha is also called
a. Parliament
b. House of people
c. Council of States

d. None of the above
II. Define the following. [1X2=2]
1. Acquit
2. Human Trafficking
3

III. Answer the following questions. [3X2=6]
1. Explain the three strategies followed by the Indian government to ensure secularism.
2. What do you mean by ‘Universal Adult Franchise’? What role does the Opposition party
play in the healthy functioning of a democracy? (1+2=3)

IV. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below. [1X5=5]
It is often believed that it was the British colonialists who introduced the rule of law in India.
Historians have disputed this claim on several grounds, two of which include: first that
colonial law was arbitrary, and second that the Indian nationalists played a prominent role
in the development of the legal sphere in British India. One example of the arbitrariness that
continued to exist as part of British law is Sedition Act of 1870. The idea of Sedition was very
broadly understood within this Act. Any person protesting or criticising the British
government could be arrested without due trial.
Another example of British arbitrariness was the Rowlatt Act which allowed the British
government to imprison people without due trial. Indian nationalists including Mahatma
Gandhi were vehement in their opposition to the Rowlatt bills. Despite the large number of
protests, the Rowlatt Act came into effect on 10th March 1919. In Punjab, protests against
this Act continued quite actively and on April 10 two leaders of the movement, Dr. Satyapal
and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To protest these arrests, a public meeting was
held on 13 April at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer entered the park with his
troops. They closed the only exit and without giving any warning General Dyer ordered the
troops to fire. Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire and many more were
wounded including women and children.
History provides us with several examples of people and communities who have struggled
to end unjust laws. Rosa Parks, an African- American woman, refused to give up her seat on
a bus to a white man on 1st December 1955. She was protesting the law on segregation that
divided up all public spaces, including the streets, between the whites and the African-
Americans. Her refusal was a key event that marked the start of the Civil Rights Movement,
which led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of
race, religion or national origin in the USA.

1. According to Sedition Act of 1870:
a. A person could be arrested and deported.
b. Any person criticising or protesting the British government could be arrested without
a trial.
c. The arrested person could not engage an advocate.
d. Arrested person could be detained in police custody for an indefinite period of time.
2. Civil Rights Act passed by USA in 1964 prohibited discrimination the basis of:
a. Race
b. Religion
c. Natural origin in the USA
d. Race, religion, national origin in the USA

3. When did the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre take place?
a. 10th March , 1919
b. 13th April, 1919
c. 20th April, 1920
4

d. 30th January,1930
4. Where is Jallianwala Bagh located?
a. Delhi
b. Kanpur
c. Amritsar
d. Agra
5. Which Act/Acts shows/show British arbitrariness?
a. The Sedition Act of 1870
b. The Rowlatt Act of 1919
c. Both ‘a’ &’b’
d. None of the above
V. Answer the following questions. [3+2=5]
1. Describe the functions of the judiciary. (3)
2. “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Discuss. (2)

GEOGRAPHY

I. Answer the following questions in very short : [1x6=6]

1. Write the TERM for the following sentence :
It is the application of latest knowledge and skill in doing or making things.
2. What do you mean by human resource development?

3. Choose the correct option:

Which one of the following is not related to land degradation process?
a. Landslides
b. Soil erosion
c. Land reclamation
d. Desertification

4. Define the term ‘Contour Ploughing’.

5. Identify conventional sources of energy with the help of following features:

 Extensively available

 Efficient conversion to electricity

 Bulky to transport

6. Choose the correctly matched pair about the location of Nuclear Power stations in India.

Nuclear Power station State

5

A. Tarapur Madhya Pradesh

B. Narora Gujarat
C. Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu

D. Kaiga Kerala

II. Answer the following questions in short : [3x2=6]

1. How can we maintain and preserve the life support system that nature provides? Write
three points.
2. “Forests are our wealth” Explain this statement with three suitable points.

III. Answer the following questions in detail : [5x2=10]

1. Explain any five methods of soil conservation.

2. A. “Energy plays a vital role in our lives” Explain this statement with two suitable points.
B. Differentiate between conventional sources and non-conventional sources of Energy.
Write three points of each. [2+3=5]

IV. Give reasons : [1x3=3]

1. Your grandmother’s home remedies have no commercial value today but they could
become economically valuable tomorrow.
2. Water availability per person in India is declining.
3. Most industries are concentrated around coal mines.

V. Locate and label the following with appropriate symbols on the given outline political map
of India [1x3=3]

a. Kudremukh - An Iron ore mine.

b. Digboi - An oil field

c. Bokaro - A coal mine

6

7

8

AglaSem Earn while Learn Program. Send your papers and get paid.
Contact: support@